Paraesthesia: .NET Development and Some Pictures of My Cat

La Revolucion

I decided the other day that I’m not as active as I should be. What I
mean by that is, since I’m not actually required to get up during the
day except to use the restroom, I should probably do something about my
physical health before I atrophy into nonexistence.

I have tried several different exercise methods, but none of them work.
More to the point, none of them are interesting enough to keep my
attention, convenient enough to do when I have time, and terribly
cost-effective. I considered the whole
Rollerblade thing, since I do like
skating, but not only do the skates themselves cost a lot, the weather
around here is dubious enough to never really allow you to go outside on
a regular basis. I can’t run or do anything too repetitive involving
feet or legs - I have flat feet, and even with orthotics, it’s not a
recommended course of action (besides, it’s boring as hell). I like
swimming, but getting the time to go to the gym/club, get ready to swim
(shower, etc.), go swimming for an hour or so, get out, shower, and
finally return home is just not in the cards. Plus, joining one of
those clubs is not the cheapest
proposition in the world. Tried the Tae Bo
thing and quickly found out that there just isn’t enough room in the
apartment for that sort of activity.

You see where I’m going with this.

So I started looking around for something that fits the qualifications
I require for exercise.

I found… Dance Dance
Revolution!
It’s this Playstation game that is apparently very popular in arcades in
Japan and Europe. The game plays a song and shows you various moves on
the screen that occur in time with the music. You have to push the
buttons on the controller that match the moves in order to score points.
Sort of a “dance simulation.” Doesn’t sound at all like exercise, right?
Well, once you get a dance pad
controller, it is.
What the pad does is allow you to stand up and step on the buttons
instead of just pushing them with your thumbs, effectively making you
dance along with the game. Brilliance, huh? Now it’s not exercise,
it’s a video game, something my mind can handle a lot easier.

The game even has a “workout mode” that allows you to get an aerobic
workout. Now that’s entertainment.

I ordered my copy of the game and a pad yesterday. Got the notice they
were shipped today, so next week I should be dancing my way to freedom
and leisure. I’m stoked. I hear it’s exceptionally addictive, which is
fine by me. It’s probably healthier to be addicted to a dancing game
than it is to sit on your ass all day long. Which is what I’m doing
right now.